Golf date comes up aces

Published 1:00 am, Monday, November 29, 2004

"Grace and I have a great relationship," said Vossler, 39 of Danbury. "We joke around. We have a lot of fun together."

Near a tee is where the two had their first date.

On July 11, the couple went miniature golfing at Golf Quest.

On Saturday, Goncalo, 43, of Danbury, again found herself miniature golfing.

Vossler told Goncalo his friend
Janet Stevens
, formerly of Danbury, was holding a scavenger hunt for friends and the couple that won would get a prize. What she didn't know was either way she was a winner and the prize would be a diamond engagement ring.

Related Stories

Stevens came up with the idea, and she and Vossler arranged it with the golf center When Goncalo and Vossler arrived, they met up with Stevens.

Goncalo putted her ball into one of the holes, and when she picked it up, she noticed the first clue in the cup.

The note instructed her to go to the gazebo and open box No. 1. There she found a bottle of champagne and two glasses and a note telling her to pour the champagne in the glasses.

It also instructed her to open box No. 2. She did and found another box, and inside that box was a tiny tea cup. The ring had fallen down.

"I think there is something else in the cup," Vossler said.

She looked inside the cup again and her eyes got wide.

Because the two decided a few months earlier they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, Vossler said he was pretty calm.

But Goncalo for months has joked that nothing is official until she gets a ring. Teasing her, one day Vossler got her a plastic ring out of a toy machine. Goncalo said she would appreciate a ring worth more than a quarter.

After Goncalo found the ring, Vossler joked he believes it is worth more than a quarter.

He took the ring from her hand and grabbed her other hand, got on one knee and asked if she would marry him.

"I didn't expect him to do it like this," Goncalo said. "They got me good."

But Vossler got his own surprise. Stevens called News-Times photographer
Mike Duffy
to take pictures of the proposal. She didn't tell Vossler. Instead, she introduced Duffy to the couple as a relative who was helping with the scavenger hunt.

The couple met in early July while working at a mutual client's home. Each has owned a business for many years. Goncalo has a cleaning business and Vossler is a contractor for heating and air conditioning.

When Vossler saw Goncalo, he said hello and they talked. The rest of the day, Vossler came up with "any excuse" he could think of to get a tool from his van just to see her.

They asked the homeowner about each other, and he introduced them.

Goncalo said a week after they met, she knew they would be together forever. "Even the first day, I felt very comfortable. We could talk about anything."

Each has a history of relationships that weren't quite right. Vossler was once engaged and Goncalo was once married.

Vossler said he and Goncalo "get along really well. There is never a dull moment. She is always in a positive mood."

Goncalo likes that they are very open with each other and talk a lot. She also likes her fiancee's attitude.

They understand each other's busy work schedules, but always make time to see each other.

They also share a faith in God. They volunteer at the
Church of Bethel
, working with the youth group.

The couple hopes to get married next year.

"We both agreed this was something that was meant to be," Vossler said.